


Bright Light

by LetoaSai



Series: StrifeHart Fluff [53]
Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Baby Riku, Christmas, First Christmas, M/M, Series, Winter storm, new traditions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:47:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28331121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LetoaSai/pseuds/LetoaSai
Summary: This wasn't exactly how Leon had planned for his first Christmas with both Cloud and Riku to go.
Relationships: Cid Highwind/Vincent Valentine, Cloud/Leon (Kingdom Hearts), Leon (Kingdom Hearts)/Squall Leonhart/Cloud Strife
Series: StrifeHart Fluff [53]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1108581
Comments: 19
Kudos: 55





	Bright Light

**Author's Note:**

> Baby Riku again....

“Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, right down Santa Claus Lane.” Leon was somewhere between speaking and singing. He wasn’t much of a singer but he wasn’t really trying to be a good singer. 

“Look, aren’t they pretty?” Leon asked. He held Riku on his hip as he stood right in front of their Christmas tree. It was Riku’s first Christmas with them, and Cloud and Leon’s first year with a real tree that didn’t fit on their coffee table. 

They’d loved their little tree but they wanted Riku to experience all the wonderful parts of Christmas. That included a whole corner of the room being taken up with a brightly lit tree. They'd learned how much Riku loved twinkling lights. The child wobbled a little and reached out to touch the tree lights shaped like pine cones. 

He made a small sound, a smile on his lips. Riku didn’t talk much yet but he said a few words here or there, most of them made up words but Leon and Cloud treated him like he was brilliant. He could say ‘Da’ and ‘Pa’ all on his own and that was good enough for them. 

“Pretty?” Leon repeated, pointing at an ornament. It was just a simple plastic ball but Riku was delighted. The room glowed softly and the little change in the room had gone over big. He loved it so much that they were already worried about the meltdown Riku might have when it was time to take the decorations down again. 

“Tree?” Leon repeated, wanting to maintain his conversation with the boy. Any sounds Riku might try to mimic were good sounds. 

Riku whipped around to look at the TV when more music started playing again. It was a little Christmas cartoon that Leon wasn’t familiar with but that was the whole reason it was on. Leon didn’t really have those kinds of experiences as a child. He couldn’t remember seeing a single Christmas cartoon as a kid and he didn’t want that for Riku. He wanted Riku to look back on all of his Christmas holidays positively. This one might not be one he’ll remember when he’s older but it was important _today_. 

“You like this one?” Leon asked. 

Riku bounced along with the kids on TV that were dancing. He was gripping Leon’s shirt tightly and he might as well have been holding onto Leon’s heart. How such a tiny human being could inspire so much love was beyond him. 

“It’s going to be a very nice Christmas, Riku. I know you likely don’t even remember your last Christmas but this one is going to blow that one out of the water. It’s going to be the best one you’ve ever had because papa and i are here. We’re gonna make it perfect.” 

Riku turned to look up at him, a small smile appearing. He liked it when Cloud and Leon talked to him. Even having no idea what was going on, he liked being included. 

“You’re gonna get to know Santa and we’re gonna figure out what our new traditions will be.” Leon said softly, swaying slowly. He didn’t even realize he’d begun doing it but multiple people told him that happened when holding a baby. 

He had no real concept of traditions, only what he and Cloud had done before. He’d come home from work a week prior to lights on the front of the house and he’d nearly teared up. He’d walked into the house scowling at Cloud just to cover it up but his husband knew. Jerk. 

“We’re gonna figure it out, okay?” 

“Pa..” Riku nearly whispered. 

“Yeah. Him too. We’ll figure it out.” 

Riku leaned closer, reaching over Leon’s shoulder and giggling. When he pulled back there was a cookie in his hand he immediately shoved into his mouth. 

Leon whipped around, face stinging hot when he found Cloud standing right behind him. “What?” he grumped, embarrassed. 

“He’s fine, Lion.” Cloud’s smile softened. “We’re fine.” 

“I know.” Leon muttered. “I just want…” 

Cloud wrapped his arms around his waist and held him close. “He’s happy, Squall. He’s happy.” 

“He’s eating a cookie. Of course he’s happy.” 

“Riku.” Cloud heaved a teasing sigh. Riku just gnawed happily on his cookie. “Your daddy is being difficult on purpose.”

“I’m not.” Leon muttered. “I want this.” 

“And that’s why it’s going to be okay. You’re going to make it happen.” Cloud said. “This is the most festive we’ve ever been and being there for Riku is what matters. He’ll get it more when he’s older, and so will you.” 

Leon hiked Riku up a little higher on his hip. “I never had many happy Christmases. I just don’t want Riku to have those regrets.” 

“He won’t.” Cloud kissed his head. “Look at him. He’s watching a Santa cartoon, eating a Christmas cookie, in a reindeer sweater--which where the hell did that even come from?” 

“Aerith.” 

“Of course.” Cloud snorted. “The point is, he won’t have those regrets. He’s already making those memories.” 

Riku tried to climb up Leon’s shoulder as he leaned towards Cloud, looking for another cookie. 

“You’ve had enough for now, baby.” Leon laughed softly. “Don’t let papa spoil you with cookies.” 

“But he wants papa to spoil him with cookies.” Cloud chuckled, amusement breaking off when they heard the wind blowing hard against the house. It was one of those cold winter days they were glad to be inside. 

“It’s snowing again.” 

Leon took Riku to the window to look out and Riku had been delighted by the falling snow the first time. They’d gone outside and made little snowmen on the sidewalk but it had spent the day snowing off and on and those little snowmen were now covered up and gone. 

“It’s really coming down.” Leon muttered. 

“Yeah, i’m gonna have to go shovel out the driveway again.” Cloud muttered. He’d been going out every time it snowed to shovel to ensure that he wouldn’t be shoveling two feet of snow later. 

“I’ll take a turn.” Leon said. “You’ve done it like three times already.” 

“I won’t fight you for it if you’re offering.” Cloud said. He much preferred the warm kitchen that smelled like cookies.

“Aaaahaaaa?” Riku made the long drawn out noise as he watched outside turn white. 

“Exactly.” Leon said, agreeing with the child. “You’ll stay inside this time though. It’s getting way too cold out and you’ve already been out once today.” 

Cloud just leaned against him. “Someday soon he’s going to be able to argue back.” 

“Yeah, well.” They were still a little worried over how much Riku would start talking. “I’ll look forward to that.” 

They both jerked when the TV shut off and the Christmas tree went dark. All of the light in the room came from the windows. 

“Did the power just…” 

“I’ll go check the circuit breaker.” Cloud said, already heading out of the room. “Maybe we tripped a fuse or something?” 

Leon grunted, walking into the hallway to see if it was the whole house out. Of course it was...It took a moment but that grip on his shirt got tighter and Riku evidently didn’t like being in the darker parts of the house with less windows. He had a nightlight in his room and there was one in their room too for the nights he needed to be with them for whatever reason. He didn't have much experience being the the dark.

“Da…” he whispered. 

“It’s okay Riku. It’s just the lights.” He’d hardly finished speaking before he heard the sniffle and then Riku was crying quietly. “Oh, no baby boy. We’re okay. It’s fine.” 

He walked back into the living room which had the most natural light shining in and Riku just seemed to get worse. He never cried particularly loud but he got huffy and breathing and Leon was always afraid he’d start coughing. 

“It’s okay.” he repeated and Riku just waved his little arms at the dark Christmas tree as if saying ‘this is not okay!’ 

“We’re gonna fix it.” Leon promised, shifting him in his arms to hold Riku more comfortably against his chest. “Yes we are.” 

“No we aren’t.” Cloud said, reappearing in the doorway. “It’s not us. It’s the power lines.” 

Leon’s eyes widened a fraction, a slow panic creeping in. This was not the perfect Christmas. “We could call the-” 

“I did. They’re sending someone to look at it. They don’t expect the power to be back on for hours.” 

“Hours.” Leon repeated, inhaling deeply to calm himself. “Fuck, we don’t have hours. It’s going to get cold in here. Too cold for Riku. This is not… Tomorrow is Christmas Eve.” 

Cloud came in, kissing the side of Leon’s head before doing the same to Riku who was still having a quiet meltdown. “It’s a hiccup for sure, but not a ruined Christmas.” 

Squall dropped to sit in the recliner, already feeling his new Christmas plans fluttering out the door. Maybe it was a good thing Riku wouldn’t remember this. “What do we do?” 

“Well…” Cloud sighed. “There’s no cooking, we could go out for an early dinner and see if it’s back on by the time we’re done?” 

It wouldn’t be. Getting someone out to work on the power lines was already going to be tricky, but after regular working hours when a major holiday was literally right around the corner... It could take days.

“Well, someplace warm is preferable. If it’s going to be all night we might need to consider a hotel for the night.” Leon sighed. He and Cloud might have been stubborn enough to just deal with the cold but they weren’t about to let Riku freeze. 

“Might be hard. It being the holidays means there’s more people around town. Families flocking to each other and….right. I have one of those.” Cloud said, pulling his phone out. He dialed after a few taps and waited as the phone rang.

“Who are you calling” Leon asked, rocking from side to side to try and calm Riku who didn’t want anything to do with their house being dark. 

Cloud just hummed and smiled a second later. “Hey pop. Power lines are down and the powers out.” He paused. “You grandson is cold. He’s crying. You want me to hold the phone closer to you can here him?” 

Leon rolled his eyes and Cloud just grinned. “Yeah? Yeah. Great. Thanks pops.”

“Well?” Leon asked when Cloud hung up a second later. 

“Doesn’t matter what happens in the city. Airship always has power and it’s warm.” Cloud said. “Maybe not ideal, but warm trumps everything right now.” He tapped Riku's nose but Riku was no in the mood. “Pops lets people off for the holidays so i doubt there will be much of the crew hanging out. Will just be us and my parents.” 

Leon so rarely heard Cloud actually refer to Cid and Vincent as his parents but he knew that’s what they were. 

“And they don’t mind?” 

“Nope. Don’t really care even if they did.” Cloud mused. Cloud was a known stowaway after all. “I’ll pack. We can always come back and grab more stuff if we’re there longer than expected.” 

Leon heaved a sigh and nodded. “Well, alright.” They didn’t have much choice. He rubbed Riku’s back and tried to calm the little boy down again. Putting his hat on was the odd thing that seemed to help. To Riku putting on his coat and gloves meant he was going back outside to play in the snow and that was just as good. 

Leon let him make one snow angel before picking him up and sticking him in the warm car. The roads were awful, and because of that Cloud was the one to drive. He prefered his bike over cars but he was a delivery boy. He’d driven in all possible terrains and wasn’t intimidated by a little snow. 

Riku sat in the back, hugging his wolf plush and humming with the radio, the dark house forgotten. 

In forty minutes Cloud was pulling onto the airstrip, cautiously looking for a decent place to park in the unplowed lot. 

There were many airships settled for the week and a large number of the Highwind fleet were among them. Riku was pointing at the great big ship he recognized, feet kicking happily. 

“Yeah, babe. We’re gonna see pop and Valentine.” Cloud said, grabbing the baby while Leon grabbed their things. 

It was freezing outside, but the door was left open for them and the second they were inside and Cloud latched the door behind them they were enveloped in heat. When unoccupied and grounded, much of the ship was left powered down but from the door to the main deck was lit up in a pretty path that was definitely more for Riku’s benefit than Cloud’s or Leon’s. 

Leon heaved a sigh. “Okay, the warmth was worth it.” 

“Yeah.” Cloud chuckled. “It’s not so bad. I’ve spent many Christmases on this ship.” 

“Santa always find you here?” Leon asked, watching as Cloud’s face softened. 

“You know, he did.” 

No matter Cid’s gruff exterior or Vincent’s nonchalance, Cloud and Denzel had a well loved sort of childhood and warm Christmases. Even now, lights twisted around the hallway that was not meant for the crew.

“Da?” Riku was looking all around, pointing. 

Leon smiled a little. “Pretty lights?” he asked, glancing at Cloud. “They do this for Christmas day?” 

“I bet they did.” Cloud chuckled. “It’s their first Christmas as grandparents, you know?” Cloud and Denzel were older, but they still came back to spend Christmas day with their parents. The fact that they still pulled out the decorations warmed Leon immensely. The fact they they were going all out for Riku… He didn’t have the words. 

“Pa!” Riku was pointing harder as if demanding they look. 

“I see, i see!” Cloud said. “They’re everywhere and so pretty.” They walked through the twisting halls. It was a literal labyrinth to anyone not used to it but Cloud had long memorized every turn. Cloud held Riku tight through the machine room and they ended up in the beautifully decorated bridge. Even the windows had strings of lights across them. In the middle was the fake Christmas tree, pulled out of storage and decorated prettily. It was the same tree they’d gotten for Cloud and Denzel when they were little. 

It also had dozens of presents under it. 

Riku gasped, feet kicking a mile a minute until Cloud set him down. The little boy still waddled when he walked and he all but ran to the tree, wolf plush waving in his hand. 

“Wow, you two went all out.” Cloud said. “Please tell me all of that isn’t for the baby.” 

Vincent moved towards them, red jacket wafting around him. He greeted Cloud with a hug. “A good chunk of them. Cid will tell you it was all me but i have the receipts to prove it was him.” 

“Let them spoil the kid.” Leon muttered. “It’s his first Christmas with us.” 

Cloud rolled his eyes. “He’s only saying that because he got Riku just as many.” 

Leon scoffed but didn’t deny it. 

“Hey there tyke” Cid greeted, picking up Riku when the child threw out his arms in an up gesture. 

“Pop!” Riku smiled, bouncing and pointing at the tree. 

“Yeah, yeah. You like that?” Cid asked. “Good. It’s up there for you.” 

“Softie.” Cloud accused quietly and Vincent hummed his agreement. 

Vincent pulled out coffee for them while they sat and relaxed for a baby free moment. There was a particular enjoyment to watching Cid carry Riku around, letting him press buttons and touch glittery decorations. 

Cid looked nice holding a baby and Vincent loved to watch it. 

“What are we doing if the power doesn’t come back?” Leon asked after a while, leaning against Cloud. Most would think the airship would be cold and vacant but it was anything but. 

“Stay here.” Vincent shrugged. “Cloud’s room is still his. It’s warm. You’d have been here for Christmas anyway.” 

Cloud nodded once. “Yeah, staying sounds okay. It’s just a few days.” He exchanged a glance with Leon who nodded. It wasn’t part of his original perfect first Christmas plans, but Vincent and Cid had gone a long way on their part to make it special too. Being so warmly welcomed was all they really needed. 

“Yeah.” Leon agreed, watching the way Riku laughed at whatever Cid was whispering to him about. Riku didn’t like to be held by many people but Cid and Vincent had both shoved their way into the baby’s affections. 

“It’s decided then. We’ll sneak home at some point to grab some of Riku’s presents. We’ll have Christmas on the airship this year.” 

They’d need to grab their gifts for Cid, Vincent, and Denzel anyway. 

“Careful.” Vincent said, a touch of humor in his voice. “Cid will think he can steal you every December twenty-third.” 

Cloud hummed, “The Captain is like that.” 

Leon’s lips twitched and didn’t bother to point out just how much like Cid Cloud actually was. He saw it. Vincent saw it. That’s all that really mattered. 

“Ahhh!” Riku laughed, holding onto Cid and so far he’d only turned around once to make sure Cloud and Leon were still there. He didn’t care where he was. Santa was still going to find him and he was around more people he loved. It was a good tradition already.

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas
> 
> Series Master List. In order. Mostly. 
> 
> Dreams Mended  
> Out of Order  
> A Winning Distraction (in the middle of Out of Order)  
> Quiet Midnight (in the middle of Out of Order)  
> Radiant Christmas (in the middle of Out of Order)  
> Successful Romance (in the middle of Out of Order)  
> First Dance  
> Bright Light  
> Until Monday  
> Repeat  
> Not enough treats  
> Wager  
> Calling Home (technically just before and just after Wager)  
> Renewals  
> Date Night  
> Sick Lions  
> Bad Memories  
> Not Perfect (could really fit in a few places, here is fine)  
> Patience  
> Long Weekends  
> Fever  
> Melee  
> Time will Tell  
> Rumble  
> Fortitude  
> A Day for Two  
> Summer Sun  
> Homemade  
> Moving on  
> Probably Haunted  
> The Night Before: by Kutikue  
> It’s only two more  
> Safeguard  
> Finding Sleep  
> Wishes  
> Lights out  
> Professional Aid  
> Hope: by Jokul_Nightfury_Frost  
> Match  
> Foresight  
> Surrounded by Kindness  
> Connected  
> Christmas Wisdom  
> On the Eve  
> Face Time  
> Errands  
> Facing Fears  
> Routine Interrupted  
> Before Our Time : by PrinceDestati  
> Well Adjusted  
> Free Advice  
> New Students  
> Stop Growing  
> Incoming proposal  
> Authentic Treats


End file.
